HR0644 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0644 LRB100 14345 MST 29124 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives wish to congratulate Chief James P. "Jay" Reardon on the occasion of his retirement as CEO of MABAS-IL; and

WHEREAS, Chief Reardon's career includes over 30 years in the emergency services field within various local and federal government positions; he began in Evergreen Park, where he served as a cadet, firefighter, and apparatus engineer; he then accepted an entry-level firefighter position with the Hoffman Estates Fire Department, where he received paramedic certification and promotions to the rank of tactical lieutenant and captain-shift commander; during his tenure with Hoffman Estates Fire Department, he also served as an on-call firefighter for Cary; and

WHEREAS, Chief Reardon was recruited to Portage, Michigan as assistant fire chief of emergency operations; he was promoted to the position of fire chief for Portage; he was then recruited to Collier County, Florida as administrator of division of emergency services; he was subsequently recruited to the position of fire chief for the Village of Northbrook; and

WHEREAS, Chief Reardon was the area incident commander in charge of mobilization and deployment of mutual aid emergency forces responding to Chicago's LaSalle Bank Building Fire, the Metra train crash, the Utica tornado, and Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana; and

WHEREAS, Chief Reardon attended the National Fire Academy; he has a Bachelor of Science in Fire Service Management from Southern Illinois University - Carbondale and graduated with honors from Western Michigan University with a Master of Public Administration; he was recently awarded a postgraduate Harvard University Scholarship to the John F. Kennedy School of Government; in 2003, he was awarded the Chief Fire Officer designation by the Commission on Fire Accreditation International, Inc.; and

WHEREAS, Chief Reardon was named Illinois Fire Chief of the Year by his peers and colleagues at the 2002 Illinois Fire Chiefs Annual Symposium; he was named Fire Chiefs Magazine's International Career Fire Chief of the Year in 2002; in 2003, he was awarded the International Fire Chiefs prestigious President's Leadership Award for championing inter-state mutual aid initiatives; he was also selected by the International Association of Fire Chiefs as one of three selected experts in the development and publication of their NFPA 1710 Implementation Guide for Fire Chiefs; and

WHEREAS, Chief Reardon is past president of the Illinois Fire Chiefs Association and was appointed by Governor Ryan to serve on the 2000 Blue Ribbon Panel for fire service issues along with the statewide Terrorism Preparedness Task Force; he previously served as Illinois Fire Chiefs' representative to the Great Lakes Division Board of the International Association of Fire Chiefs; he serves on several national committees including the International Association of Fire Chiefs Domestic Terrorism Committee, the Homeland Security Coordinating Council, the Emergency Responder Technology Transfer Group, and the National Mutual Aid Task Force; and

WHEREAS, Chief Reardon's career also involved services within the federal government; he served as liaison between the Department of Defense and local communities in the reuse, economic redevelopment, and civilian conversion of military institutions scheduled for closure; he was an active reservist with the United States Air Force, previously assigned to F-16 Tactical Units and C-130 Airlift Wings; he was selected as Disaster Preparedness Officer of the Year for the Air Force Reserve; he served as officer in charge of readiness for 22nd Air Force, Dobbins Air Force Base, Georgia; his military career concluded in November of 2004 when he retired after 28 years of service; and

WHEREAS, Chief Reardon has instructed at various colleges and conferences and authored numerous articles published in various trade journals; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Chief James P. "Jay" Reardon on his retirement as CEO of MABAS-IL, and we wish him the best in all his future endeavors; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Chief Reardon as an expression of our esteem and respect.